Should a casino go in Woolwich?

Waterloo Region Record

There are 550,000 people who call Waterloo Region home, but just five will decide whether a casino can go here.

They are the mayor and four councillors of Woolwich Township, the only one of the region’s seven lower-tier municipal governments interested in hosting a gambling operation with up to 1,200 slots and hundreds of gaming tables.

And they suddenly wield a lot of power.

There’s nothing improper about this situation. Woolwich council is following the province’s rules for opening new casinos and doing a fantastic job of consulting township residents. But as the politicians — and Woolwich citizens — gear up for the March 5 vote on the casino they should keep two things in mind.

First, this is a major decision that involves not just the money a casino would bring to the area but the grave human harm it could cause. Second, Woolwich is part of Waterloo Region. This decision, while made in a township with 23,000 people, will impact the lives of the more than half a million other residents in the region. Think carefully, Woolwich, please.

We recognize how tempting the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s proposition must seem. A township staff report says the casino would fill Woolwich’s coffers with $4 million a year in casino revenues plus the possibility of another $3.5 million in annual property taxes. To put that $4 million in perspective, it would amount to a 40 per cent increase in the township’s capital budget. Property taxes would have to rise by 52 per cent to raise a similar amount of money from local ratepayers.

Yes, Woolwich council could do a lot of good with that money — and township residents would be spared soaring tax bills. But there’s another side to a casino beyond its glitzy facade.

Waterloo Region’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Liana Nolan, is convinced a casino would fuel serious problem gambling. The fallout from this would include health problems, family breakdown and suicide. And the closer a casino is to a larger population, the more harm is done.

Beyond this, it’s an open question whether casinos are a reliable way to build an economy. Ontario’s four marquee resort casinos, once virtually machines for printing money, lost $43 million in 2010 and $93 million in 2011. Tastes change. Consumers are notoriously fickle. If Woolwich gets a casino, for instance, neighbouring Centre Wellington Township in Wellington County, will lose the slot machines in Elora, and the hefty revenues they bring. Could casino riches similarly be here for Woolwich one day and gone the next? Is a casino, economically speaking, just a house of cards?

Finally, the township should consider its neighbours in the rest of Waterloo Region. Every other lower tier municipality — three cities, three townships — either rejected a casino or decided to voice no desire to host such a facility.

What does that political message say about local support for a casino? And on such an urgent matter with so much at stake, should Woolwich stand with the rest of the region’s municipalities or break ranks? This last question is particularly relevant given that any local casino would be in Woolwich Township rather than for Woolwich Township. Most of the gamblers would come from Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge, which would experience the casino-driven pain but little or none of its financial gain.

Decision day is coming. Woolwich citizens should let their leaders know their views quickly and clearly. There’s no time for a referendum. Council, for its part, must carefully weigh the pros and cons, and listen to the residents. The final decision should be worthy of politicians who know the worth, not just of $4 million, but of a healthy, functional community.